MARATHON: Westheimer was a place for learning

According to the book, Historic Houston Streets, Westheimer Road was named for Michael Louis Westheimer, a prosperous German immigrant who arrived in Houston in 1859. Paying $1,600 — or $2.50 an acre, at an auction — he bought a 640-acre farm west of town where Lamar High School and St. John's School now sit.

Because there was no public education in Texas at the time, he built a school on the site for his 16 children, eight of whom were believed to be his own. Another five were adopted from relatives and three had been orphans. Many nieces and nephews also arrived from Germany, and local children were invited to attend for free.

The winding, shell-covered lane through the wilds of what is now Montrose and River Oaks that led to his spread became known as "the road to Westheimer's place."

A hay merchant, he became a prosperous entrepreneur and is said to have laid Houston's first railroad tracks. The family's livery business at Milam and Congress evolved into Westheimer Transfer and Storage.